DWR officials started the Ferron Reservoir chemical renovation Thursday, which was designed to begin killing the reservoir’s current fish population.
The treatment featured the chemical rotenone. The rotenone was also added to the reservoir’s tributaries to keep the unwanted fish from returning. The DWR will conduct a second rotenone treatment some time in the spring.
DWR Aquatics Manager Paul Birdsey assured the public the chemicals would only affect the fish.
“The concentrations that we use, it’s been estimated by the EPA that an individual would have to drink 23,000 gallons of water in one sitting to experience any effect from the rotenone,” Birdsey said. “It’s safe to use around livestock, wildlife, etc. There is no public health impact or threat whatsoever.”
Birdsey said the DWR hopes to have the reservoir restocked with fish by the Fourth of July weekend. Native cutthroat, sterile Rainbow and possibly sterile Brook Trout would be included in the restocking.
The treatment and restocking should help the cutthroat population thrive, Birdsey said.